Rail anchor



Patented Der; 22,` 1925. l

A ,ljvJNlTEID STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD o.- wAnn, OFPABII anion, ILLINOIS, AssIoNon To 'IIIE I a II COMPANY,

`or' cHIcAao, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or II.I.INOIs.

BAIL ANCHOR.

application mea February 24, was.l serial No. 11,183.

To all whom t may comem:

Be it known that I, HAROLD G. WARR, a citizen of the United States, residin at Park Ridge, vinthe county of Cook and tate of Illinois, have 'invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Rail Anchors, of -which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in rail anchors and has for its object to provide an im roved one-piece anchor device adapted to distorted during its application to a rail, to effect a firm spring grip on v the base flange of the rail.

A more specific object of the invention is to providea one-piece rail. anchor formed at one end with a jaw portion adapted to'be moved into gripping engagement with the upper and lower surfaces of a rail base by a swinging movement of the anchor about an axis extending longitudinally of the rail and formed at the other end with a portion which is flexed into Agripping engagement with the opposite edge of the rail base, whereby the anchor device, by reason of lits tendency to return tothe positiony from which it was sprung,v exerts spring pressure vertically vupon the upper and lower surfaces of the` rail base at one side of the rail and exerts spring pressure transversely of the rail against opposite edges of the'rail base.

Another Object. of the invention is to provide animproved anchor device of the above character which is so formed as to provide a tie abutting portion adapted to bear against one of the vertical faces of a cross tief at a substantial distance below the lower surface of a rail base and which is so formed as to be distorted to its rail gripping position-by flexing one end of the device downwardly and outwardly during the application of the vanchor to a rail.

Theinvention has for further objects such other new and improved constructions relating to rail anchor devices, as will be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out the above stated ob'ects,and such other objects as may ap ear rom a description of a preferred em iment of my invention.

In the drawing:

Fi 1 is a plan view of a rail base showin a rai lanchor constructed in accordance wit my invention. applied thereto, in operative position to bear against a vertical face of a cross tie. r

Fig. 2 is a view in cross section of a railroad rail, showing the manner in which my improved rail anchor is hooked over the opposite edges of the rail base. Fig. 3 is a cross section of a rail base showling my improved anchor applied to its rail base gripping position, and

Fig. 41s a view in perspective of the rail anchor. y

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates a railroad rail supported on a cross tie 11, and 12 is my improved anchoring device adapted to grip-the base portion 13 of the rail, and bear against the cross ties so as to resist longitudinal movement of the rail.

My improved anchor device is made preferably from a steel bar, one end of which is bent upon itself to form a hook-shaped jaw portion 14, adapted to grip the rail base 13 at one side of the rail, and the other end is bent to provide an upwardly and inwardly projecting arm 15, adapted to engage the ase flange at the opposite side of the rail.

The jaw portion 14 includes apart 16` which bears at its extremity against the upper surface of the rail base at a point remote from the adjacent edge of the base, a part 17 for engaglng the vertical surface 18 of the base, and a part 19 provided with a flat` bearing surface 20 ada ted to bear against the bottom surface o the rail base adjacent its lower corner. the jaw preferably extends at an angle to the inclined upper surface of the rail base, so as to confine its enga ement with the rail base to a point interme. iate the adjacent edge of the base and the longitudinal center thereof.

The body portion of the` bar is bent at an The part 16 of arm 15, which extends upwardly and v,in-

wardly with respect to the edge l22 of the rail base. The lower portion of the arm `15 together with the downwardly extending.

body portion 21 of the anchor provides a tie abutting portion which bears against a vertical faceof the cross tie 11, at a substantial distance below the bottom surface of the rail base. The arm 15 is formed near tudinally of the rail base.

its upper end with a notch 23 adapted to fit over the edge of the rail base on the side opposite to that engaged by the jaw portion 14. The arm 15 is preferably formed so that the distance between the face 24 of the jaw and the face 25 of the notch 23 is normally less than the width of the rail base, when the anchor device is free of the rail, and so that it is necessary, when applying the anchor to a rail, to ex the arm 15 outwardly with res ect to the edge 22 of the rail base. This exing action of the arm 15 is facilitated by the inclined inner surface 26 of the arm 15 which bears against the edge of the rail so as to function as a cam, adapted, when the arm 15 is forced downwardly, to force the arm l5 outwardly with respect to the adjacent edge of the rail.

In applying the anchor to a rail, the arm 15 is first hooked over one edge of the rail base in the manner indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, and the jaw end is then raised until the lower edge of the part 16 clears the upper edge of the base. Tn this position the anchor may be movedl bodily to the right, so that the parts 16 and 19 of the jaw will embrace the u per and lower surfaces of the. rail base. T e extremity of the part 16 of the'jaw and the fiat bearing surface 2O of thepart 19 are moved into gripping engagement with the upper and lower surfaces of the rail base by swinging the end of the anchor about an axis extending longi- This swinging movement is effected referably by forcing the armi' 15 downwardly until the notch 23 sna s over the edge 22 of the rail base. This downward movement of the arm 15 stresses the jaw portion of the anchor so as to exert vertical -s ring pressure on the upper and lower sur aces of the rail base.` By reason of the engagement of the inclined face 26 of the arm 15 with the edge of the rail base, the arm is flexed outwardly with respect to the edge 22 of the rail base. When the arm snaps into its operative position, as shown in Fig. 3, the anchor device exerts a spring grip transversely of the rail against opposite edges of the rail base. The tie abutting portion extends referably at a substantial distance below t e rail base and at a oint beyond the edge of the base engage by the arm 15,r thereby roviding a substantial bearing surface or bearmg against the tie.

While l have described my invention in connection with a specific embodiment, it will be obvious that various changes in structure might be made without departure from the spirit of the invention. It will therefore be understood that l contemplate all such modifications in structure as come within the scope of the appended claims.

I do not claim bmadly herein the invantion common to the device herein shown and to the device shown in my (so-pending application, Serial No. 11,182 filed February 24, 1925, as the common invention is claimed in my said co-pending application.

I claim:

1. A rail anchor comprising a bar formed at one end with a jaw portion adapted to be moved into gripping engagement with the top and bottom surfaces of a rail base at one side of the rail by a downward swinging movement of the other end of the bar, said last mentioned end being formed with a portion adapted to snap into engagement with the other edge of the rail base.

2. A rail anchor comprising a bar formed at one end with a jaw portion provided with parts for embracing the upper and `lower surfaces of a rail base at one side of the rail and adapted to be moved into gri ping engagement with said surfaces by a ownward swinging movement of the other end of the bar, said last' mentioned end being formed with a portion adapted to snap into engagement with the upper edge of the rail base.

3. A rail anchor comprising a bar formed at one end with a jaw portion adapted to be moved into gripping engagement with the upper and lower surfaces of a rail base at one side of the rail by a downward swinging movement of the other end ofthe bar, said last mentioned end being formed with an arm which is flexed outwardly during the application of the device to a rail, and snapped into engagement with the edge of the rail when the device is in its applied position.

4. A rail anchor comprising a member formed at one end with a jaw portion adaptl ed to grip one surface of the rail base at a point adjacent one longitudinal edge of said base, and the oppositely disposed surface at a point intermediate said edge and the longitudinal center of the base, and formed at the other end with an arm adapted to be iexed outwardly and downwardly into operative engagement with the edge of the rail base at the other side of the rail, the said jaw portion and said arm being so arranged with respect to each other that the jaw portion is moved into gripping engagement with the rail base by the downward movement of said arm.

5. A railanchor comprising a member .formed at one end with a jaw portion adapted to engage the bottom surface of the rail base at a point adjacent `the edge of said base and the up er surface at a point intermediate the e ge and the longitudinal center of the base, and formed at the other end with an arm ada ted to be flexed downwardly and outwar ly into operative engagement with the edge of the rail base aty the other side of the rail, the said jaw portion and said-arm being so `arranged with base at a point adjacent one edge of said.

base and the upper surface of the rail base at a point intermediate the edge and the longitudinal center of the base, and formed at the other end withan arm adapted to be fieXed outwardly and downwardly into operative engagement with the edge of the rail base at the other side of the rail, the said jaw portion and said armbeing so arranged with respect to each other that movement of` said arm downwardly to its operative po- `sition tensions said jaw portion so as to exert a spring grip on the upper and lower surfaces of the rail base.

T. A rail anchor comprising a member formed at one end with a jaw portion adapted to engage the bottom surface of the rail base at a point adjacent one edge of said base, and the upper surface at a point intermediate the edge and the longitudinal center of the base, and formed at the other end with an arm adapted to be flexed out-- wardly and downwardly into operative engagement with the edge of the rail base atlhe other side of the rail, the said jaw portion and said arm being so arranged with respect to each other that movement of said arm downwardly to its operative position tensions said jaw portion, so as to exert a spring grip on the upper and lower surfaces of the rail base, and that the outward movement of the arm so tensions the anchor as to exert a spring grip on the opposite edges of the rail base'transversely of the rail.

8. A rail anchor comprising a member formed at one end with a jawportion adapted to grip the upper and lower surfaces of a base of a rail at one side of the rail and formed at the other end with an arm for engaging the opposite edge of the rail base; said arm and jaw portiony being so disposed with relation to each other, that said arm is first hooked over one edge of the rail base to permit the jaw portion to be hooked over the opposite edge of the rail base.

9. A rail anchor comprising a member formed at one end with a jaw ortion adapted to engage with the base o? a rail at one side of the rail and formed at the other end with an arm for engaging the opposite edge of the rail base; said arm and jaw ortion being so disposed with relation to eac other that said arm is first hooked over one edge of the rail base to permit the jaw portion to be hooked over the opposite edge of said base and is forced downward to move said jawy portion into normal gripping4 engagement with the upper andlower surfaces of said rail base.

10. A rail anchor comprising a member formed at one end with a jaw portion adapted to engage with the base of the rail at one side of the rail, and formed at the other end with anarm for engaging the opposite'edge of the rail base; said arm and jaw portion being so disposed with relation to each other that the arm is first hooked over one edge of the rail base to permit the jaw portion to l be hooked over the opposite edge of the rail base, and is forced downwardly and iiexed outwardly to effect a vertical gripof said jaw portion on the upper and lower surfaces ofthe rail base and to exert a spring grip transversely of the rail against opposite edges of the rail base.

HAROLD G. lVARR. 

